Implementation and interpretation of hydrogen breath tests

Abstract

Hydrogen breath tests are non-invasive and safe diagnostic tools used to investigate functional intestinal disorders. For the diagnosis of fructose or lactose malabsorption as well as for the detection of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth syndrome, hydrogen breath tests are even regarded as gold standard. However, standardization of the testing procedure and the interpretation of the test results are still lacking. In this paper, reliable information on the implementation of the most common hydrogen breath tests and precise guidelines for the interpretation of the test results are presented.